Transmission control



Oct. 3l, 1950 E. s. Russi-:Y 2,527,965

TRANSMISSION CONTROL Filed Sept. 25, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet '1 @J 062715, 'j Emsa@ Oct. 3l, 1950 E. s. RussEY TRANSMISSION CONTROL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 25, 1946 fm1/ren?" 7d/ward Patented Oct. 31, 1950 2,527,965 TRANSMISSION CONTROL EdwardSfRussey, Muncie, Ind., assignor to-Borg- Warner Corporation. Chicago, Il1.,a corporav tionv of Illinois -Applicationiseptember 25, 1946,Serial N o. 699,274

This invention relates to improvements in variable speed transmissions of the type employed in :motor vehicles and more particularlyof --the ltype controlled from the steering column for shifting the gears-and :jaw clutch torque transmitting elements thereof.

The principal object-of the invention isrtoprovide an improved transmission control-arrangement embodying novel selector and shifting mechanism for the transmission shift members voperably connected `to the torque transmitting elements which will vbe simple in construction,

and .economical to manuyoke by itselement for securing the .desired speed ratio.

These and other objects and features of this invention will become apparent from, the .f ollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a sectional diagrammatic view of `a vtransmission assembly to which `the present oo ntrol mechanism is applicable;

Fig. 2 `is a sectional-view through the ltransmission taken along line 2 2 of Fig. 3 and havling a preferred :embodiment of the gear shift mechanism of this invention;

jFig. 3 is a sectional ,view through thetransmission taken alongline 3-3 of Fig. 2; 'and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail side elevational views of a pair ofinterlock cams employed in connection with present invention.

Referring now-to the drawings for-afdetailed description of the invention, and-particularly to Figs. 1. and 3, the transmission .comprises a housing I for receiving and journaling v an input shaft I I and an output `shaft I2 .that arefdisposed with their axes in alignment anda Acountershait generally indicated at I3. Rotatable with input shaftil `is a gear ylli whichmeshes with `a gear I5 mounted on countershaft I3. Rotatable with the countershaft I3 .is a-lsecondspeed gear, :I B,

v2 claims. (C1. 74-473) Ygear I1, gear 2| to the output shaft I2.

a i-lrstzor low'speed gear I'I z and a reverse .gear I8. The gears I5, I'6,"I'I and II8 may beformed integrally with the countershaft 'I3 .as clusterv gears. In constant mesh with second speed gear I6 is agear 'I9 which is loosely mountedon-output shaft I2. The right-hand end (Figs. 1 and 3) of output shaft "I2 is formed :with splines' on which is `Slidably mounted a gear' v2| :for movement to the left to engage rst speed gear'I'L or to be moved to the positionzshown yinfFigs. l and 3 for neutral, vSliding gear 2| -:is also adapted to be moved to the right Ato engage an idler 22 which idler engages reverse-.gear I8 and provides va reverse drive in output rshaft I2. Formed on the adjacent `sides of the'gears I4 and I9 are hub portions which .are provided with external clutch teeth 23 and 124, respectively. Splined Yon the shaft I2 is a hubfmember 25 having teeth 26 which, in accordance with'the usual practice, carry a shiftable positive jaw clutch sleeve 2l which is splinedfon the hub Vmember at a location between the hub portion-fof thegears I4 and I9 andprovided with internal clutch-teeth Awith which the clutch teeth 23- and 2li-respectively are .adapted to be selectivelylmeshed as is well-known in the art.

The gear trains establishable through `the transmission, shown with the gears 'in neutral position, are as follows:

For low speed forward, the gear 2l is moved to the left to mesh with rthe gear I'I, the gear train established being from gear I4 to gear I5,

For second speed, gear 2| is in a neutral position and sleeve 21 is moved tothe right so as to Yengage teeth 24 of gear I 9 with teeth 26 of the hubmember 25, the gear train is then from gear I4 togear I5, gear I6, gear `Iii and sleeve 2'! to the output shaft I2. For third speed or direct drive, Y the sleeve 21 is shifted to the left to engage teeth 23 of gear I4 with teeth 26-l of the hub member 25 so as to provide a direct connection between the input shaft gear I4, the clutch sleeve 2l to 'the output shaft I2. For reverse drive, the sleeve21 is in its neutral position andthe gear 2l is moved to the right toengage idler 22, which establishes a gear train rfrom gear i4 to gear I5, gear IB, idler 22 and gear 2 I to the output Yshaft The yportion of the control mechanism which is directly connected with the transmission mechanism housing is mounted on a cover 28 vwhich is utilized for closing the side opening of the'transmlssion housing. The cover 28 includesy topl and bottom walls 29.L and 3B merging with spaced parallel Walls 3| and 32 and end walls 33 and 34.

Referring now to Figs. 2 and 3 for details of the control mechanism for sliding gear 2| and sleeve 2l, it will be observed that sleeve 2'! is provided with an annular channel 35 in which is received a shift yoke 35. Said `voke 36 is secured to, or may be integral with, a shaft 3'| which is rotatably mounted in a, crank arm 38 of a rockshaft 39. Similarly sliding gear 2i is provided with a channel 46, preferably in its hub, in which is received a shift yoke 4l which may also be secured to or made integral with a shaft 42 which is rotatable in a crank arm 43 of a rockshaft 44. It may be noted from an inspection of Fig. 3 that each of the rockshafts 39 and 44 are journalled centrally thereof in the wall 3| of the cover 28 and have their ends jouralled in bearing bosses 45 and 45a formed in the wall 32 of the cover 28.

Mounted on the rockshaft'39 between the walls 3| and 32 of the cover 28 is a gear 46 having a hub portion 4'! secured to theshaft 39 by a key 48 and held against movement axially of the shaft 39 by the walls 3! and 32. Similarly, the rockshaft 44 has mounted thereon a gear 49 having a hub portion 56 which is secured to the shaft by a key 48a and held against movement axially of the shaft 44 by the walls 3| and `32 of the cover 28.

As shown in Fig. 3J the gears 46 and 49 are mounted on the shafts 3S and 44, respectively, so that they are disposed in parallel planesl for a purpose hereinafter described. Selective rotation of the gears 46 and 49 and thereby the shift yokes 36 and 4| is accomplished by means of a gear slidably mounted on splines 52 on a shaft 53 having its opposite ends journaled respectively in the wall 3| of the cover 28 and in a bearing boss 54 in the wall 32 ofthe cover. The shaft 53 is held against endwise movement by a key 55 mounted in the boss 54 and engaged in an annular groove 56 in the shaft. To the outer end of the shaft 52 is secured an operating lever 5'| which is connected by linkage (not shown) to the steering post control mechanism.

It will be apparent from an inspection of Fig. 3 that the gear 5| on the shaft 53 is shiftable axially thereof to mesh the teeth of the gear with either the teeth of the gear 46 or the teeth of the gear 49 due to the disposition of the gears 46 and 41 in parallel planes and the range of movement of the gear 5l axially of the shaft 53 afforded by the splines 52 thereof extending between the walls 3| and 32. It may also be noted that the width of the gear 5| is such that the gear may be selectively shifted into engagement with either one of the gears 46 and 49 without having engagement with the other of said lastmentioned gears.

For the purpose of shifting the gear 5| to and fro along the shaft 53 into engagement with either the gear 46 or the gear 49, a crank generally designated 58 is provided having an arm 59 formed at its outer extremity with downwardly extending lugs 60 and 6| having opposed arcuate surfaces 62 and 63 receiving the gear 5| therebetween. The crank arm 58 has an arm or shaft 64 extending upwardly from its arm 59 which is journaled in a vertical boss 65 in the top wall 23 of the cover 28. The upper end of the shaft 62 is secured to an operating lever 66 which is connected by linkage (not shown) to the steering post control mechanism. Thus by swinging the operating lever 66 to and fro, the crank 58 shifts the selector gear 5| longitudinally of the shaft 53 into meshing engagement with one or the other of the gears 46 or 49 operatively connected to the shift yokes 36 or 4|.

In order to lock one of the shift yokes against accidental movement while the other is being shifted, a suitable interlock is provided between the two yokes 36 and 4| and comprising sector portions 61 and 68 on the respective crank arms 38 and 43 in which the yokes are rotatably mounted.

The periphery of the sector 6l (Fig. 4) of the crank arm 38 is formed with a series of three notches 691i, 69h, and 692', the suffixes representing neutral, high speed and intermediate speed respectively. The notch 631i is separated from the notches 63h and 5912 by relatively high regions 'I6 which are in the form of flat and aligned surfaces. The notches 69h and 691' are bounded on the sides thereof remote from the notch 6911, by relatively high regions 76a which may be curved or arcuate and their overall height, i. e. the distance from the axis of the shaft 39, is greater than the height or the distance from the axis of the shaft 39 of the aligned dat regions i0. Similarly, the periphery of the sector 68 (Fig. 5) of the crank arm 43 is provided with a series of three notches im, 'HZ and 7|r, representing neutral, low and reverse speeds. Be-

cause of the greater leverage offered by the crank arm 43, the notch '|In, HZ and l'lr are comparatively widely separated from one another and the notch lm` is bounded on opposite sides thereof by aligned high regions '|2 which are substantially flat and which merge into still higher arcuate regions 12a. The outer sides of the notches 'ill and 'Hr on the sides remote from the notch i211. are bounded by arcuate regions '|213 of greater height than the height of the aligned, flat high region 2.

rlhe various notches of the two sectors 61 and 68 cooperate with a combined interlock and yieldable positioning poppet device '|3 to prevent shifting of either sector 6'| or 68 from its neutral positoin while the other sector is in the process of being shifted or when a shift thereof has been completed from the neutral position thereof.

The interlocking device 'I3 comprises a sleeve 'I4 (Fig. 3) which is slidably mounted in a bore formed in a boss 'I6 provided on the wall 3| of the cover 28 between the crank arms 38 and 43. A pair of balls and 'I8 are positioned within the sleeve '|4 in the end regions thereof. The ball is selectively engageable in the notches 59u, 691' or 69h. in the sector 6'! and the ball '|8 is selectively engageable in the notches lm, 'HZ and TIT. Both balls are yieldingly urged outwardly away from each other by means of a coil spring 19.

During movement of one of the crank arms 38 or 43 from its neutral position, for example, the crank arm 38, one or the other of the at surfaces '|0 of the sector 61 will engage and, by a camming action, move the adjacent end of the sleeve 'i4 toward the sector 68 with the result that the other or remote end of the sleeve will abut against the aligned, at surfaces '12, the ball '18 being urged and nested between these surfaces and into the notch In, whereby the crank arm 43 will be held against movement away from its neutral position. After a shift has been made by movement of the crank arms 38, and the ball 'H occupies a position within either notch 691' or 6971., the relatively high portion 10a of the sector 6`| will bear against the sleeve 'I4 and contnue to hold the other end of the sleeve against the aligned, flat surfaces 12 and thus prevent shifting of the crank arm 43.

A similar situation exists when the crank arm v 43 moves in either Adirection from its neutral position. Initial movement of lthis arm will cause one or the other of the aligned, flat surfaces 12 to vbear against. an .end `of '.'thesleeve 14r and vforce the other end of .thesleeveagainst the :.aligned, "at surfaces 10, to .thuslock .the .crank armSSin its neutralV position. Whenrthe'crank arm '43 has moved from its neutral position V.to either ofiits :gear-*engaging positions wherein .the bali'lB-.nc-

cupies a position within-either of the recesses 1H or 11T, one or the other of the two aligned, flat surfaces 12 will engage an edge of the sleeve 14 andurge the vsleeve toward the'crank-arm 538 so 'thatthe other end -of the -sleeve engages the aligned, fiat surfaces 16, thereby locking the crank arm 38 in its neutral position. After the crank arm 43 has been moved to either of its limiting positions with the ball 18 disposed in either the notch 1lZ or1lr, as the case may be, the relatively high surfaces 12a and 12b on either side of the notch bear against the end of the sleeve 14 and retain the latter in its locking position wherein an end thereof bears against the aligned, flat surfaces 10 of the crank arm 33 and prevents shifting of the latter out of its neutral position.

From the above description it will be seen that it is impossible to shift either of the crank arms 38 or 43 when the other crank arm is in the process of being shifted or when it has been shifted away from its neutral position. Additionally the interlock arrangement renders it impossible to shift both of the crank arms out of their neutrol positions simultaneously.

In describing the operation of the control mechanism, let it be assumed that the motor vehicle is at rest with the motor running and the transmission and control mechanism therefor is positioned in the neutral position as shown in the iigures of the drawings. To obtain low forward, the selecting lever 66 of the crank 58 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Fig. 3) to cause the arm 59 thereof to shift the gear 5l axially of the shaft 53 toward and into engagement with the gear 49. The shift lever 51 may then be rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 2) to effect rotation of the gear 5I and thereby the gear 49 and the crank arm 43 to move the shift yoke connected thereto to slide the gear 2| along the output shaft i2 and into engagement `with the gear I1 to establish low forward speed.

The various gears and the other parts of the control mechanism are then returned to their neutral positon as shown in the drawings to condition the transmission for second speed. To establish second speed, the selecting lever 66 is rotated in a clockwise direction (Fig. 3) to effect movement of the selector gear 5I along the shaft 53 and into mesh with the gear 46, the gears 5l and 46 then being rotated by counterclockwise movement of the shifting lever 51 (Fig. 2) to rotate the crank arm 3S and thereby move lthe associated shift yoke 36 and sliding clutch sleeve 21 to eiTect toothed engagement of the latter with the gear i9, which is in engagement with the second speed gear I6. Thereafter, third speed or direct drive is readily established by merely rotating the shift lever 51 in a reverse or clockwise direction (Fig. 2) which will rotate the gear 5| and thereby effect rotation of the gear 46 and its associated crank arm 38 in a counterclockwise direction to shift the yoke 3S IA6 and move thefclu'tch sleeve'. 21 intoitoothed engagement with 'the teethl-23 yof the gear :.1 4,. aidirect connection Vthus being :established between the input and output shafts Il and l2. -`To obtain reversefdrive, the shift'lever 51 and selector lever`V GS are Areturned to their neutral positions shown/'in the drawings andithe lever l166 isv then rotated in a counterclockwise direction (Fig.:3) to engage gear' 5| with gear' '49. .Shift llever' 51 is 'then rotated in a counterclockwise direction .(Fig. 2) to cause gear 5l to rotate `gear '49'clockwise for shifting yoke `lll `to the right .thereby sliding gear 2l `into mesh with the reversevidler Vgear22 for establishing reverse drive.

AItwill thus vlbe `seen that I have provided a simple 'shift control mechanism fora transmission and which utilizes a single Selecting and shifting gear adapted to coact=withgears respectively .associated-with shift yokes and operative to establish the different speed ratios, the entire control mechanism for the transmission being mounted onv the side cover of the trnasmission housing.

Various changes will be apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and it is not intended to limit the invention in its broader aspects to the details shown and described, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

Iclaim:

l. In a transmission having a pair of shiftable ldrive control elements movable from neutral positions to drive completing positions, a pair of operating members mounted for independent oscillation about parallel axes, means operatively connecting one of said control elements with one of said operating members and the other control element with the other operating member whereby said elements assume positions corresponding to the positions of the respective members, a rock shaft oscillata'ble about an axis parallel to the axes of said operating members, toothed means mounted on each of said operating members and toothed means on said rock shaft movable axially to engage either of said first-named toothed means whereby subsequent rotation of the rock shaft causes oscillation of one or the other of said operating members and movement of its control element, and an interlock cooperable with said operating members for preventing the simultaneous movement out of neutral position of both of said membersthe toothed means of said operating members being located so adjacent each other that the toothed means on y,said rock shaft is always in engagement with at least one of said first-named toothed means and, due to said interlock, said rock shaft and the toothed means thereon cannot be oscillated when the toothed means on the rock shaft is in mesh with both of said first-named toothed means.

2. In a transmision having a plurality of torque transmitting members each of which is capable of being shifted from a medial position in opposite direction to one of two extreme positions, a casing for said elements, a pair of cranks for effecting the shift of said members and journaled in said casing for rotation on parallel axes, a toothed member on each crank and rotatable therewith, a shifting member journaled in said casing between said cranks and rockable on an axis parallel to the axes of said cranks, a toothed selecting member on said shifting member rotatable therewith and having slidable movement axially thereof into meshing engagement with one or the other of said mst-mentioned toothed members, means for selectively sliding said selecting member, means for rotating said shifting member, and interlock means mounted on said casing between said cranks and engageable therewith for preventing movement of either crank from its medial position when the other crank has been shifted from itsfmedial position and for preventing simultaneous shifting of both cranks from any position thereof, said toothed selecting member on said shifting member having a limited axial movement whereby it is always in engagement with at least one of the toothed members on said cranks and cooperating with said interlock means so that when it is in engagement with both of the toothed members on said cranks it is held by the interlock means from rotation in either direction.

EDWARD S. RUSSEY.

8 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,170,830 LeBlond Feb. 8, 1916 1,635,484 Kesling July l2, 1927 2,202,950 Girardi June 4, 1940 2,323,516 Cipullo July 6, 1943 2,350,506 Haight June 6, 1944 2,438,691 Armantrout Mar. 30, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 254,848 Great Britain July 15, 1926 636,725 Germany Oct. 14, 1935 

